Rhody Beats Duquesne on Women and Girls in Sports Day

Rhode Island Starters
Phillips, Vital, Komara, Dutat, Kaur

Duquesne Starters
Kiaku, McConnell, Green, Moore, Browne

How it Happened
It came down to the final two minutes, but the Rhode Island women’s basketball team pulled out a 59-57 win over Duquesne on Wednesday night at the Ryan Center.

It was Palmire Mbu who initially got the Rams (12-12, 7-4 A-10) going down the stretch, blocking a Duquesne bucket on one end before assisting a Sophia Vital three on the other to put her team ahead 58-54 with just over a minute left to play.

The Dukes (13-10, 7-5 A-10) answered right away with a trey of their own to cut the margin down to one but it was the closest they got as Rhody benefited from two missed free throws and a missed layup down the stretch. The Rams also got a boost when Harsimran “Honey” Kaur made a free throw to give her team some breathing room before the defense forced Duquesne to run out of time on its final possession, unable to get a shot off before the clock ran out.

The teams had entered the final quarter tied at 44 points apiece. Over the course of the game, neither side held a lead larger than four points as play was back-and-forth all night. Rhody’s win avenged a 77-64 loss at Duquesne back on Jan. 19, evening the teams back out in the 2024-25 season.

Inside the Box Score
Guard Sophia Vital scored a career-high 20 points, powered by a career-high four three-pointers. The only Ram to finish in double figures, she also made all four of her free throw attempts.
Forward Hawa Komara finished just shy of a double-double, hauling in 12 rebounds to go along with nine points.
Her efforts helped the Rams out-rebound the Dukes, 39-35.
Center Harsimran “Honey” Kaur poured in nine points and made all but one of her six free throws. She also added eight rebounds.
Forward Palmire Mbu scored eight points and grabbed four boards while recording a game-high three blocks.
Duquesne’s Megan McConnell scored a game-high 22 points. She entered the game averaging a league-best 18.6 points per game.
The victory helped Rhode Island get to .500 on the season at 12-12. At home, the Rams are 7-4.
Up Next
The Rams will continue their home stay with a game against Dayton on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Ryan Center on ESPN+.